Paul Blackburn’s pinpoint strike at the top right corner of the zone whizzed right past Joc Pederson’s blurred bat, ending a scoreless frame for the Oakland Athletic pitcher. It was an ordinary result in extraordinary circumstances. This wasn’t a middling Giants team the 28 year-old had held down on Tuesday night: it was the National League All-Stars.
“It’s just awesome to see two guys representing their hometown and competing at the highest level in the All-Star Game,” a first-time All-Star in Blackburn, an Antioch, Calif., native said.
After a season of pitching within the relative anonymity the Oakland A’s last-place provide, the right hander probably assumed being named Oakland’s only All-Star would provide some small spotlight. It was well deserved after he compiled a 6-5 record and a 3.62 ERA on an A’s team that enters Thursday’s doubleheader against the Tigers at 32-61.
“The beauty of calling a game with a guy like Paul is that there’s no wrong pitch at any time,” catcher Stephen Vogt said. “He can execute them all.”
Blackburn became the focus of national attention after he made a casual reference to his plane ride with the Houston Astros’ All-Star contingent to Los Angeles for the game. For much of the next few days, most of the discussion revolved around Oakland’s willingness to put their All-Star on a commercial flight, or Houston’s sportsmanship.
“It was kind of crazy, because I’m a guy who tries to stay out of all that,” Blackburn said. “I didn’t think it was as big of a deal as it was made out to be, but it was still a fun experience.”
Only a fraction paid attention to Blackburn’s stellar showing for the American League. In the bottom of the fourth, Blackburn got hometown favorite Trea Turner to pop up, Pederson to strike out swinging and future Hall of Famer Albert Pujols to fly out to left field.
“I was excited for Paul to get that opportunity, and it was great to see an Oakland Athletic on the mound and do a great job,” manager Mark Kotsay said.
As Pujols readied himself for the last All-Star at bat of his career, Blackburn was in no hurry to start the duel. The A’s pitcher took his time, and gave the crowd a long moment to shower the living Cardinals legend with praise and adoration.
“The guy has done so much for this game, and it was cool to share that experience with him,” Blackburn said.
Though Blackburn enjoyed getting the best of the best in the senior circuit, the real highlight for him was playing in front of so many friends and family. Of the 52,518 who attended the game, around 20 were there to watch the Heritage High school alum. That group included his wife, child, grandparents and more.
“It wasn’t that hard getting tickets for everyone,” Blackburn said. “MLB did a good job of letting us let the league know beforehand how many tickets we need, so they took care of us well.”
With the Midsummer Classic now in the past, all attention turns to the second half of the season, at least in theory. The A’s must also deal with the looming Aug. 2 trade deadline and the prospect of instability and a stripped-down roster.
Blackburn acknowledged the impending change, but said the players in the locker room are still committed to their current teammates.
“It was one of the things the guys kind of expected at some point,” Blackburn said. “It’s hard to not pay attention to that for those guys. But I think everyone has done a good job of being present and being here for each other.”
Before the start of Thursday’s noon game, the festivities of Tuesday’s contest seemed further than two days and 360 miles away. Set to start the second match was Frankie Montas, the ace of the staff that probably would have joined Blackburn in Los Angeles had he been healthy.
If or when Montas joins Blackburn in a future All-Star Game, it will probably be while wearing the uniform of a team contending for the playoffs.
“You know Frankie and I have been together the last seven years … and I’m going to miss that guy,” a sentimental Blackburn said.
